Election Season Puts Politicians in the Pews

State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, third from right, spoke with Deacon Tyson Lilland at Mount Sinai Baptist Church in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, on Sunday.Credit
Michelle V. Agins/The New York Times

Eleven months out of the year, the parishioners of New York City can safely attend Sunday services with no reasonable fear of interlopers, television cameras or quizzical members of the press.

But this is the electoral playoff season of October, when aspiring statesmen show up on doorsteps more often than jack-o’-lanterns. That means politicians are descending on the pews.

By noon on Sunday, three churches along a single two-mile stretch of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, had played host to three of New York State’s more prominent elected officials: the state’s attorney general and comptroller, both of whom are running for statewide office, and the mayor of New York City.

Coincidence? In campaigns, there may be no such thing.

“When it’s really near an election, we could have one every week,” said W. Ruth Whitney, the political liaison at Mount Sinai Baptist Church in Brooklyn, which regularly receives requests from politicians to pay a visit to the pulpit. “I always tell them to bring a card, because the pastor’s mind is on the sermon. They give a card so he’ll remember who they are.”

In the annals of campaign clichés, going to church ranks somewhere among kissing babies and eating corn dogs at the fair. A politician gets to soak up a sense of moral authority while also demonstrating some personal piety.

But there are strategic advantages, too, particularly in elections where turnout is expected to be light: a chance to convey a message directly to a captive audience of likely voters at an influential community institution.

“You’re guaranteed a crowd,” said H. Carl McCall, who said he routinely dropped by eight churches on a single Sunday when he ran as the Democratic candidate for governor in 2002. “You’re talking to people who are leaders, who have family and friends, and they pass on that information. It’s a critical part of a campaign, particularly a campaign where you are trying to get out the base Democratic vote.”

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And multiple sermons mean multiple chances to meet voters. “You do it by borough,” Mr. McCall explained. “You go to Brooklyn, you do three or four churches, you go for the 8 o’clock service. Then you go to three or four more for the 11 o’clock services.”

Politicians must be careful, however, to avoid the veneer of opportunism. In the next election, congregants may recall whether the smiling office-seeker returned to the pulpit after the last precincts were counted.

“The risk is that you get a backlash from those who say, ‘I’ve never seen you before,’ ” said the Rev. Al Sharpton, who has long straddled the line of campaigns and catechism.

If a candidate is viewed as exploiting a religious service, Mr. Sharpton said in an interview, “the pastor’s wink can turn into a frown.”

Indeed, not all church cameos go as a candidate may wish. In 1997, Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani appeared at a Harlem church in an attempt to mollify his critics among black New Yorkers. He was met with taunts, boos and one person who repeatedly yelled the word “murderer.”

Most appearances, like those on Sunday, work out just fine — even if the politician occasionally pays a price. “Once I was in Rochester doing seven churches,” Mr. McCall said. “I got to five of them just as they were taking up collection, so I contributed each time.”

Andrew Cuomo speaks with Litisha Smith after Sunday service at Brown Memorial Baptist Church in Brooklyn.Credit
Kirsten Luce for The New York Times

That, more or less, concluded the religious portion of Mr. Cuomo’s visit. For the next 10 minutes, Mr. Cuomo delivered a pitch for support in his bid for governor, citing his record as attorney general and assailing his opponent “for trying to divide us.”

The church’s pastor, the Rev. Clinton M. Miller, quickly encouraged congregants to vote for Mr. Cuomo. Congregants clapped politely, if warily, as if their hands were a tad callused from the parade of politicians.

Jacqui Williams, 42, said she would have skipped the 11 a.m. service for an earlier one had she known Mr. Cuomo was to speak. “It makes church longer,” she said as she walked out. “We should be eating lunch by now.”

But Martha Singleton said she was thrilled to meet the candidate. “I had only read about him in the newspaper, and seen him on TV before,” she said. Seeing him in the flesh had spiced up her Sunday. “It makes it relevant,” she said.

Staying to the End

When Thomas P. DiNapoli, who is running for re-election as state comptroller, arrived at Mount Sinai Baptist Church on Sunday, he sat quietly in a pew while the pastor, the Rev. Dr. Curtis L. Whitney, ran through administrative announcements.

Somewhere between the names of summer camp attendees and a list of coming church events, the comptroller had a chance to speak.

“We’re still going through tough times,” Mr. DiNapoli said from a lectern next to the pulpit. He asked the congregation to "pray for the elected leadership."

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Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg greets Pastor Lawrence Aker at the Cornerstone Baptist Church in Brooklyn.Credit
Eirini Vourloumis for The New York Times

The comptroller received praise from the pastor for staying throughout the morning’s service, which the pastor’s wife, W. Ruth Whitney, said was crucial for a candidate.

“My husband really doesn’t like anyone just coming in and saying a blurb and then going,” Ms. Whitney said. “The word has gotten around where most of the politicians know that you have to stay for the service.”

Eric Wright, 38, a parishioner, said politicians should come to his church more often. “It’s good to have them around,” he said — “but not just when the election is going on.”

A Speech for Education

Usually, Bill Howell, a deacon at Cornerstone Baptist Church, prefers politicians who visit his congregation to stick around after they speak. “We typically ask them to stay and worship with us,” Mr. Howell said.

But Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s devotion to the church — Sunday’s appearance was his fourth there — and his message of improving education allowed the mayor a pass when he left shortly after his remarks. “It coincided with our education program, so today we accommodated him,” Mr. Howell said.

Mr. Bloomberg, who spoke for half an hour, was greeted warmly by the congregation, which murmured in assent when he cautioned that education reform would not be easy.

While the mayor is not running for re-election, Mr. Howell said his church could help candidates, adding that John C. Liu earned votes after appearing at the church last year in his winning bid for city comptroller.

“They probably wouldn’t have voted for him if he didn’t come through those doors,” Mr. Howell said of Mr. Liu. “When he came back, he came to say thank you.”

A version of this article appears in print on October 4, 2010, on Page A19 of the New York edition with the headline: Election Season Puts Politicians in the Pews. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe